Over 1,500 years since the fall of the Western Roman empire, its legacy endures. Our fascination with the Eternal City, along with its cultural legacy — from Roman law to the Catholic Church — has continued to endure for a longer time than Roman rule in western Europe itself lasted.
Here is a timeline of Roman civilisation, charting major events from its legendary beginnings to the rise of the Republic and Empire, and finally its dissolution. This Roman timeline includes major conflicts such as the Punic Wars and significant projects like the construction of Hadrian’s Wall.
The Kingdom of Rome: 753 – 661 BC
753 BC
Legendary founding of Rome by Romulus. Chronological evidence shows beginnings of civilisation at Rome
Romulus and Remus were said to have been raised by a she-wolf.
616 – 509 BC
Etruscan Rule and beginnings of the Roman State or res publica, meaning loosely, ‘the state’
The Roman Republic: 509 – 27 BC
509 BC
Establishment of the Roman Republic
509 – 350 BC
Regional wars with the Etruscans, Latins, Gauls
449 – 450 BC
Classification of Roman Law under patrician dominance
390 BC
1st Gallic sack of Rome after victory at the Battle of Allia
341 – 264 BC
Rome conquers Italy
287 BC
Roman law progresses towards plebeian ascendancy
264 – 241 BC
First Punic War — Rome conquers Sicily
218 – 201 BC
Second Punic War — Against Hannibal
149 – 146 BC
Third Punic War — Carthage destroyed and significant expansion of Roman territory
Listen Now215 – 206 BC
1st Macedonian War
200 – 196 BC
2nd Macedonian War
192 – 188 BC
War of Antiochos
171 – 167 BC
3rd Macedonian War
146 BC
Achaean War — Destruction of Corinth, Greece becomes Roman territory
113 – 101 BC
Cimbrian Wars
112 – 105 BC
Jurgurthine War against Numidia
90 – 88 BC
Social War — between Rome and other Italian cities
88 – 63 BC
Mithridatic Wars against Pontus
88 – 81 BC
Marius vs Sulla — plebeian vs patrician, loss of plebeian power
60 – 59 BC
First Triumvirate (Crassus, Pompey Magnus, Julius Caesar)
58 – 50 BC
Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul
49 — 45 BC
Julius Caesar vs Pompey; Caesar crosses the Rubicon and marches on Rome
44 BC
Julius Caesar made life-long dictator and assassinated shortly thereafter
43 – 33 BC
Second Triumvirate (Mark Antony, Octavian, Lepidus)
32 – 30 BC
Final War of the Roman Republic (Octavian vs Antony & Cleopatra).
Caesar crossing the Rubicon.
The Roman Empire: 27 BC – 476 AD
27 BC – 14 AD
Imperial Rule of Augustus Caesar (Octavian)
43 AD
Conquest of Britain begins under Emperor Claudius
64 AD
Great Fire of Rome — Emperor Nero places blame on Christians
66 – 70 AD
Great Revolt — First Jewish-Roman War
69 AD
‘Year of the 4 Emperors’ (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian)
70 – 80 AD
Colosseum built in Rome
96 – 180 AD
Era of the “Five Good Emperors” (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius)
101 – 102 AD
First Dacian War
105 – 106 AD
Second Dacian War
112 AD
Trajan’s Forum constructed
114 AD
Parthian War
122 AD
Building of Hadrian’s Wall in Britannia
Watch Now132 – 136 AD
Bar Kokhba Revolt — Third Jewish-Roman War; Jews banned from Jerusalem
193 AD
Year of the 5 Emperors (Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus, Septimius Severus)
193 – 235 AD
Reign of the Severan Dynasty (Septimius Severus, Caracalla, Severus Alexander)
212 AD
Caracalla grants citizenship to all free men in the Roman provinces
235 — 284 AD
Crisis of the Third Century — Empire nearly collapses due to assassination, civil war, plague, invasions and economic crisis
284 – 305 AD
A “Tetrarchy” of co-Emperors rules Roman territory in four separate parts
312 – 337 AD
Reign of Constantine the Great — Reunites Rome, becomes first Christian Emperor
The coinage of Constantine’s Empire. His economic policies were one of the reasons for the decline of the west and the sundering of the Empire.
330 AD
Capital of Empire placed in Byzantium (later Constantinople)
376 AD
Visigoths defeat the Romans at the Battle of Adrianipole in the Balkans
378 – 395 AD
Rule of Theodosius the Great, final ruler of the united Empire
380 AD
Theodosius declares Christianity as the one legitimate Imperial religion
395 AD
Final East-West division of the Roman Empire
402 AD
Capital of Western Empire moves from Rome to Ravenna
407 AD
Constantine II withdraws all forces from Britain
410 AD
The Visigoths, led by Alaric, sack Rome
The sack of Rome by Alaric.
455 AD
Vandals sack Rome
476 AD
Western Emperor Romulus Augustus is forced to abdicate, ending 1,000 years of Roman power in Western Europe
